A few days ago, Chen Luo received a letter from Cheng Nansong, recommending a great scholar to him: Chen Xiliang.
Chen Xiliang, also known as Gongbi, together with Song Ci and Cheng Nansong, studied at Buren College in Lingzhou in his early years. According to Cheng Nansong's letter, the three of them met in the mountains on their way to school, and together they became apprentices to Mr. Sushui, the old master of Buren College.
Among the three, Chen Xiliang was the oldest but the least talented. He was the first to become an official and worked in a branch office.
Decades ago, Chen Xiliang had entered the realm of seeking and was serving as deputy prime minister. The then Dharma Minister Di Renjie was about to be canonized. He originally planned to recommend Chen Xiliang to take over as Dharma Chancellor. However, Mr. Sushui, who had already become a saint, stepped into the mortal world and stopped Di Renjie. .
Later, Mr. Su Shui and Chen Xiliang talked all night long. After sunrise, Mr. Su Shui returned to the church, while Chen Xiliang handed in his resignation, resigned and retired to seclusion. He returned to Qingshenfu Buren College and resumed teaching and teaching. This once became a secret that could not be discussed in the bias office.
I have always seen teachers praise their disciples, but I have never seen anyone like Mr. Shu Shui block his disciples' future.
But in the letter, Cheng Nansong revealed the truth behind why Mr. Shu Shui prevented Prime Minister Di and Chen Xiliang from resigning——
What Chen Xiliang seeks in his holy way is "punishment without waiting"!
The saints of the aristocratic family break the law and are guilty of the same crime as the common people!
Legalism is an important part of Confucianism. It was founded by Xunzi and carried forward by Shang Yang, Shen Buhai and Han Feizi. Among them, Shang Jun was the first to propose "no equal punishment".
But in the end, Shang Jun died due to the backlash of his fate.
As for Chen Xiliang, the holy way he practiced was exactly Shang Jun's "punishment without waiting" path.
Cheng Nansong told Chen Luo that Chen Xiliang's talent was not very good. Mr. Sushui once said that he could reach the second level at most in his life. However, by chance, Chen Xiliang got half of Shang Jun's "Lixin Log". This half of the "Lixin Log" Engraved on it is the long-lost half-volume "Book of Shang Jun"!
Perhaps it was because the Shang Jun way fit so well with Chen Xiliang that he, who was not optimistic, actually made rapid progress in Legalism with half a volume of "The Book of Shang Jun", breaking through the realm one after another until he broke through to the realm of seeking, and became a Confucian scholar at that time. Big focus person.
However, Chen Xiliang succeeded in "Shang Jun Shu" and failed in "Shang Jun Shu".
If you continue on this holy path, you are destined to end up like Lord Shang!
Therefore, Mr. Shu Shui took action.
He blocked Chen Xiliang's future of being promoted to law minister, and then asked Chen Xiliang to return to the academy, stay away from officialdom, and find a way to solve the problem.
However, Chen Xiliang not only failed to find a way to solve it, but his mood was damaged. He retreated again and again on the holy path, falling from the realm of seeking to the second-level realm.
It was precisely because of this that Cheng Nansong wrote to Chen Luo. He believed that perhaps Chen Luo could help his ill-fated senior brother to find the direction of the Holy Path again.
Before, Chen Luo was thinking about taking a day or two to go to Buren Academy to meet Mr. Chen and ask him to come out. He only knew about Chen Gongbi in this world from Cheng Nansong, but the Chen Gongbi in Blue Star's history was a figure that Chen Luo admired.
Unexpectedly, the other party actually delivered it to his door.
Not only that, but they also brought two great gods!
Chen Luo's eyes fell on the two young men behind Chen Gongbi.
If you read it correctly, these are two pieces of blue sky...
"Sir, you are polite." Chen Luo quickly bowed to Chen Xiliang and the two pieces of blue sky, invited him to sit down, and ordered the clerk to serve tea. Then he asked knowingly, "I heard Cheng Xiang mentioned it to Song Sheng earlier, and I wanted to pay him a visit. , but I am busy with official duties and cannot travel far. I am very happy to see you and your two disciples today. I wonder why you came here today?"
Chen Xiliang looked at Chen Luo's enthusiastic face and was slightly stunned.
Chen Luo, the master of martial arts, is a person whose ears have been hearing the sound of cocoons in the past two years. I also knew that the other party was young, but when I met for the first time today, I realized that the other party was too young.
No wonder Junior Brother Cheng is so worried, he is still a child after all.
Looking at Chen Luo's green face and listening to Chen Luo's somewhat childish but pretending to be mature words, Chen Xiliang couldn't help but feel slightly distressed.
Those old guys couldn't solve the problems of the Legalists themselves, so why did they push such a kid to take the blame?
No matter how heroic he is, it is still a fight with open swords and clear guns. This is officialdom, a place where one can fall even on a plain road.
At his age, no matter how smart he is, how much thought can he have? How much resistance do you have to deal with those conspiracies and calculations?
Do you just push him to the position of Dharma image and then ignore everyone?
I have long heard that both of his parents died when he was young, but his elder sister has now entered the Taoist gate and closed the barrier of life and death. Although the master's bamboo forest is strong, the Bamboo Sage is far away. Several senior brothers are guarding the bamboo forest, and no one is beside him.
This child is alone and has no friends!
Chen Xiliang, who was Sima Daru of Chunqiu Hall, had read the records about Chen Luo in detail on the way here. Every word was tearful and every word was inspiring.
What a good child, who has experienced so many dangers and made so many contributions to our human race, but his smile is still so sincere!
Okay, you don't care about him, then I will take care of him!
Thinking of this, Chen Xiliang quickly showed a kind smile and said softly: "I was invited by my junior brother Nan Song to help Zhu Guo take charge of the branch."
"Although I haven't made any achievements, I still know a little bit about the relationships and people here. I think I can be of some help."
"In addition..." Chen Xiliang tilted his head, looked at Kuang Zhong and Hai Rui, and then said to Chen Luo, "the two scoundrels have passed the imperial examination a few years ago, and now they have reached the age of becoming officials. I want them to be biased Become an official and get some training."
"Great." Although he had already guessed the other party's intention, Chen Luo still patted his thigh in cooperation and said, "Qingqing Zijin, my heart is long, but for the sake of you, I have been thinking about it till now! I have to sir, be biased No worries everywhere!"
Listening to Chen Luo's excited nonsense, Chen Xiliang shook his head with a smile, and even Hai Rui and Kuang Zhong also showed a smile.
I didn’t expect that the dignified Lord Zhuguo could be so cute.
"To be honest, I have a headache and I want to consult sir." Chen Luo said directly in the spirit of "leading the team well" as a hands-off shopkeeper.
Before Chen Xiliang took a sip of the hot tea, he quickly put down the cup and asked, "What's the matter?"
Chen Luo quickly took the roster he had just written, handed it to Chen Xiliang, and said, "Mr. Chen, does he know about the Metropolitan Procuratorate?"
Chen Xiliang pinched his beard and nodded: "Of course."
In fact, Chen Xiliang originally wanted to investigate Chen Luo, but after watching "The Shocking Injustice of Dou E" and "The Metropolitan Procuratorate", he decided to come directly to interview Chen Luo.
Seeing the admiration on Chen Xiliang's face, Chen Luo quickly continued: "It's easy for me to set up the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but it's a headache how to recruit candidates."
"The Metropolitan Procuratorate is responsible for changing the outcome of the case. If it uses inhumane methods, I am afraid it will cause greater injustice. But I really can't find that many people..."
Hearing Chen Luo's distress, not only Chen Xiliang, but also Kuang Zhong and Hai Rui laughed.
Chen Xiliang put down the tea cup and said: "Zhu Guo's considerations are good. The Chaoyuan Yamen is very good, but if it is played by someone with intentions, and it is filled with their people, then Zhu Guo will be making wedding clothes for others. .”
"Based on my understanding of those saints from aristocratic families, they will not seize key positions when they come up. They will only slowly infiltrate and spend ten, twenty, thirty years, through various methods such as assistance, marriage, and bribery. Take the initiative slowly.”
"Then what should we do?" Chen Luo was too lazy to think at this time, sitting directly next to Chen Xiliang and asked.
Hearing Chen Luo's "helpless" questions, Chen Xiliang couldn't help but secretly sigh that he had arrived in time, otherwise the child would have been in trouble.
"The first step, of course, is to hire the right people. Grassroots officials can first select from those who have joined the official career in the past three years. This group of people have just entered the official career and their temperament is undecided. It is also the most dangerous period to face corruption and wooing. During this period, there are no If there are any problems, they are worth focusing on cultivating.”
"I do not shy away from relatives when promoting talents. If Zhu Guo agrees, Kuang Zhong and Hai Rui can be allowed to participate in this work. They have upright minds and selfless eyes."
Chen Luo nodded quickly.
I couldn’t ask for it.
Chen Luo bowed his hands towards Kuang Zhong and Hai Rui, and they quickly returned the greeting. Then Chen Luo looked at Chen Xiliang: "What about the second step?"
"The second step is to initially establish an effective official structure, but here we need fifth-rank officials, fourth-rank officials, and even third-rank officials."
"In recent years, many officials from the bias office have returned with their seals because they were dissatisfied or offended the holy family. I have connections with these people."
"I thought we could call them all back. It just so happened that the Metropolitan Procuratorate was newly established, so there was no need to create additional positions. What do Zhu Guo think?"
Chen Luo's eyes lit up.
Yes, if you weren't upright, how could you be disappointed, how could you be ostracized, and how could you leave?
If these people were allowed to come back and be responsible for redressing unjust cases and catching corrupt officials, it would not be very satisfying.
"Yeah, yeah." Chen Luo nodded again. He was worthy of being recommended by Lao Cheng. He was reliable!
"The third step is to improve the legal system." Seeing Chen Luo's appearance, Chen Xiliang became even more cheerful and said everything he knew. "I believe that officials should declare their property. We can start the pilot project from the Metropolitan Procuratorate."
"Then, systems such as cross-changing of posts, evidence-based orders, and lifelong accountability must be established first."
At the end, Chen Xiliang was silent for a moment and said: "There is one last thing that requires Prime Minister Zhu's approval."
"What's up?"
Chen Xiliang said: "High salary supports integrity!"
"Officials are also human beings, and they also have wives, children, and children. If too much emphasis is placed on honesty and integrity, it will inevitably make people embarrassed."
Chen Luo nodded when he heard this and couldn't help but glance at Hai Rui who was standing behind Chen Xiliang.
In Chen Luo's memory of that period of history, the Ming Dynasty was the worst when it came to officials' low salaries; but when it came to how corrupt officials were, the Ming Dynasty also ranked among the top three. Moreover, it is an honest and just-named greed.
"I can pay if you increase the salary, but this breaks the rules. But the imperial court has its own system of salary, and it is not easy to increase it without authorization." Chen Luo thought for a moment and said, "Let's do this. The Bias Office cooperates with "Da Xuan Min Daily" "Baixin Legal News", I will give up 10% of the members to the Bias Office, and it will be regarded as the authorization fee. The benefits of the officials of the Bias Office will be allocated from this member."
Chen Xiliang was shocked when he heard this and looked at Chen Luo in surprise.
Although he knew that the People's Legal Newspaper had not yet been released, he knew that this newspaper was another gold mine just based on Chen Luo's reputation and those legal stories.
One percent!
Chen Xiliang looked at Chen Luo. This time, he felt more and more that the child in front of him was sincere. However, since he is so careless, he still needs to be reminded.
"Prime Minister, I believe that this job cannot be given out at once, otherwise it will inevitably arouse people's envy. You can cooperate with some officials' honest deeds and reward them with a big fanfare, so that everyone can stop talking about it."
Chen Luo thought about it, and it made sense.
It’s just that he originally thought of giving one portion at a time, but ended up giving out three portions.
But Chen Xiliang said so, so just listen to him.
"Mr. Chen, you have served as deputy minister of the bias office, and your qualifications and abilities are suitable. The prime minister wants to appoint you as the first governor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. What do you think?"
"Dump the blame"!
Chen Xiliang frowned slightly: "I have not been in the officialdom for many years, and if I take on such a big responsibility rashly, I am afraid that I will be above the court..."
"I'll take care of the court affairs!" Chen Luo waved his hand and said confidently.
Isn't it just to let His Majesty the Emperor show his face a few more times and get his seal stamped a few more times?
Little things!
Chen Xiliang hesitated and looked at Chen Luo again.
Anyway, since the Metropolitan Procuratorate has just been established, there must be many monsters and ghosts.
Just let me, this old man, stand in the way for you!
"In this case, I would rather obey your orders than I should be respectful. Within three days, I will prepare the detailed rules of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and report them to Zhu Guo."
"Well..." Chen Luo nodded and said seriously, "It's a bit late today. I will grant the seal to Mr. tomorrow."
"I'll leave it to you, sir, to handle matters related to the Metropolitan Procuratorate."
Chen Xiliang stood up and saluted: "Gong Bi should do his best."
Chen Luo: ヽ(￣▽￣)
Successfully dumped the blame!
Seeing Chen Luo's relaxed look, Chen Xiliang sighed in his heart: This kid looks like he can do anything on the surface, but he still has a lot of anxiety and nervousness hidden in his heart!
…
Just when Daxuan set off a Legalist craze throughout the country because of Chen Luo's inauguration as Legal Minister and the establishment of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, something not too big or too small happened in Nanhuang.
The Tiger Clan's subordinate clan, the Lion Clan, rebelled.
It is not appropriate to call it a rebellion. The main reason is that Shi Wei, the young master of the Lion Clan, killed the Tiger Clan envoy, and then took his 800 Green Lion Guards and three Lion Clan Great Sages to confront the Winged Tigers who came to hold him accountable. There was a fierce battle.
The result of the battle was that most of the eight hundred Green Lion Guards were killed, all three Lion Clan Great Sages were killed, and Shi Wei, the young master of the Lion Clan, was captured alive by the Winged Tigers.
It is rumored that Shi Qi, the ancestor demon of the lion clan, tried to take action, but was suppressed by Feng Bugui.
Weihu Mountain.
"Your Majesty, my son does not intend to rebel!" Shi Li, the leader of the Lion Clan, stood in the main hall, saluted respectfully, and said with sadness and anger, "The Winged Tiger lineage has suddenly increased the share of my clan's surrender recently. My son is very angry, and with The messenger reasoned. Unexpectedly, the messenger wanted to use my grandson as a hostage. My son had no choice but to kill him. "
"Your Majesty, please take a closer look."
Feng Nanzhi sat upright on the couch, listening to Shi Li's words, frowning slightly, and said: "The document submitted by the Wing Tiger Department said that you have raised troops?"
Shili was stunned for a moment and said, "Those are my son's bodyguards and the three guardian saints."
"Then it's time to raise troops!" Feng Nanzhi said coldly, "Go back and let a son with a clear head become the young master."
"Next time, the lion clan will have to change to someone with a clear mind to become the lion king."
Shi Li opened his mouth and was about to turn around when Feng Nanzhi suddenly looked a little impatient and said, "Here comes someone."
The figure of the secret guard immediately appeared in the hall.
"Accompany the Lion King to the Wing Tiger Department. If Shi Wei is not dead yet, let him take him away."
Shi Li was stunned for a moment, then looked at Feng Nanzhi in surprise.
"Still not grateful?" the secret guard said coldly.
Only then did Shili react and said quickly: "Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty."
After saying that, he followed the secret guard out of the hall.
Seeing Shi Li's back walking away, Feng Nanzhi frowned slightly, patting her abdomen gently with one hand as usual, while muttering to herself: "Feng Bugui... what on earth are you doing?"
…
Zhongjing, Duke Anguo's Mansion.
"Sir, this is a humble house." The carriage stopped and Chen Luo stepped out of the carriage, along with Chen Xiliang and the child.
During the previous conversation at the retreat, Chen Luo learned that Chen Xiliang and others were still staying in the inn, so he took the initiative to invite them to stay temporarily at Anguo Gong's Mansion. Chen Xiliang thought that the official residence of the Metropolitan Procuratorate would be arranged in a few days anyway, so he agreed. However, Kuang Zhong and Hai Rui were driven away by him to find their own houses to live in.
After all, they are about to join the Metropolitan Procuratorate and will not be assigned an official residence based on their rank. They have to rely on themselves for everything.
So Chen Luo watched helplessly as the two pieces of blue sky floated away...
Judging from the silver coins Chen Xiliang gave them, they probably had to find a farmer outside the city to share their rent.
Welcome to college graduation season.
He led Chen Xiliang into the Duke's Mansion and arranged for Lu Tong to arrange the guest room and dinner. The child was taken to play by the gourd girls. Chen Luo and Chen Xiliang sat in the flower hall and continued to chat about the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
"By the way, sir, there's something I don't understand." Chen Luo seemed to suddenly think of something and asked.
Chen Xiliang smiled faintly: "Zhu Guo, please speak."
Chen Luo considered his words for a moment, and then said: "I heard Cheng Xiang say before that punishment cannot be imposed on aristocratic families, and the law does not punish saints. The reason is that their luck is entangled with the luck of the human race. If we deal with saints from aristocratic families, The clan will suffer the backlash of the fate of the human race, and Lord Shang also died from the backlash."
"But I don't understand what the essence of this is."
"Why is it that as long as you punish the saints of aristocratic families, you will be considered to be hurting the fate of the human race? Isn't it possible for the human race to correct itself?"
"I, Zhulin, have a feud with the Fang family. My master, senior brother, senior sister, and even me have all taken action against the Fang family. How come there is no problem?"
Listening to Chen Luo's continuous questions, Chen Xiliang first smiled and then sighed.
"Did Prime Minister Cheng tell Zhu Guo that the main body of the human race's destiny is the destiny of the holy family?"
Chen Luo nodded.
Chen Xiliang continued: "How does the human race's luck come about?"
"There are sages who walked thousands of miles away, ascended to heaven and were conferred as saints. They used the holy way to connect the heavenly way and guide them here."
"The so-called Heavenly Dao is the bell. To put it bluntly, it depends on who has the most connections to the Heavenly Dao and who receives the most Heavenly Dao luck."
"There are more demon tribes than witch tribes, so the demon tribe has become the protagonist of heaven; we have more human tribes than demon tribes, so we are now dominating the Nine Provinces."
"To put it simply, the human race's luck is the luck they took from the heaven, which was absorbed by our human race and then transformed into it. The imperial court is the easiest way to increase the luck."
"Do you understand that?"
Chen Luo nodded: "Understood, it is equivalent to the saint getting the first money from Tiandao. Then I, the human race, will manage it, and the total amount will be received in the end."
"If you make money, you will be a prosperous dynasty; if you lose money, you will be in dire straits. Right?"
Chen Xiliang was stunned for a moment and nodded: "That's right, that's what I mean."
"Using your metaphor, the continuation of the bloodline of aristocratic saints as saints is, to a certain extent, the owners who lend money."
"If the owner suffers losses, he will naturally have to make up for it. The way to make up for it is to take back the money he has given out, but the money he has given out has already been turned into various properties. If he takes them back, he will rely on these properties to make a living. People will suffer.”
"In this way, backlash will occur."
After listening to Chen Xiliang's answer, Chen Luo finally realized that in the final analysis, there was a lack of financial isolation.
"You ask why you have a grudge against the Fang family and nothing happens, but our law enforcement will be backlashed?"
"It's very simple. Take the Fang family as an example. As long as the Fang family's holy path is still there, even if all the Fang family members die, it will not be called a loss. There will always be someone who can inherit it."
"The law is different. The law is designated by the imperial court and promulgated to the world, reflecting the will of all people."
"Using laws to punish the holy family is tantamount to using the public opinion of the people to deny the holy family. It is nothing more than negating a certain amount."
"As a result, the fate of the holy family will naturally be damaged."
"That's why the noble family is more willing to punish its disciples on its own than to be punished by the court."
Chen Luo frowned slightly: "Not even for individuals?"
"As long as you are not expelled from the family tree and retain the blood of saints and semi-saints, you will be one with the family. If you are prosperous, you will be prosperous, and if you are damaged, you will be harmed."
Chen Luo let out a long breath: "I understand."
Chen Xiliang smiled and nodded: "This is the hurdle that has held me back for a long time."
"Many legalist semi-saints ultimately adopted the concept of 'humanity comes first' and crossed the chasm of the law to become saints on the spot; but I followed the path of 'punishment without waiting' and there is no way around it!"
Chen Luo smiled softly: "There will be a way."
From the source, everything is due to the power of heaven, so we should work hard from the power of heaven.
As a Taoist master, I am best at this.
Thinking of this, Chen Luo was about to comfort Chen Xiliang a few more words, but suddenly his expression changed and he was stunned.
"Zhu Guo, what's wrong with you?" Chen Xiliang also noticed Chen Luo's strangeness and asked with concern.
Chen Luo waved his hand: "Nothing, I just thought of something." After saying that, he stood up and said, "Mr. Chen, I have some private matters related to spiritual practice that I need to deal with first, so I won't accompany you."
Chen Xiliang waved his hand quickly: "Don't worry about me, you can practice on your own."
"Yeah!" Chen Luo cupped his hands and hurriedly ran back to the study, sat cross-legged and meditated, and his mind fell into the sea of souls.
Just now, something seemed to have rushed into the flower forest of my dream!
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.
(End of chapter)
